Predicting the Prognosis of Acute Pulmonary Embolism Using Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography Measurable Parameters in Comparison to Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI)

Abstract Background Pulmonary embolism is a leading cause of cardiovascular death and with CTPA being the gold standard in its diagnosis, it is feasible with radiologic parameters to stratify and early identify patients at risk of death. Aim of the Work To detect the prognostic value of radiologic parameters of CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in comparison to pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI). Patients and Methods This was a prospective study done at Ain Shams University Hospitals and included 84 patients diagnosed with acute pulmonary embolism and referred to the radio-diagnosis department for CT pulmonary angiography examination. Results 3.6% of patients died within 24 hours and 44% died within 30 days of diagnosis of PE. All patients who died within 30 days had abnormal CTPA findings especially RV/LV ratio, PT diameter, septal bowing and contrast reflux in the IVC which revealed significant relationship between them and 30-day-mortality. Meanwhile PESI showed contradictory results and was less reliable than the radiologic parameters. Conclusion The CTPA radiological parameters appeared valuable for the prediction of 30-day mortality in patients with acute PE, and was superior to the PESI.